Automated compliance scripting and verification

ABSTRACT

In an example, a method for implementing a disclosure message requirement may include operations to detect a condition requiring an output of the disclosure message and to control output of the disclosure message, in a communication session that follows a process workflow. The process workflow may be modified to include pausing further actions in the process workflow, outputting of the disclosure message in the communication session, and then resuming actions in the process workflow in response to successfully outputting the entire disclosure message to a customer user. In some examples, the communication session involves a telephone call session between a customer service agent and a customer. In some examples, user interface functions related to the process workflow are disabled and then enabled, to prevent the agent from proceeding in the process workflow for a product or service until the disclosure has been successfully output.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/695,678, filed Sep. 5, 2017, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,360,564,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/989,278,filed Jan. 6, 2016, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,754,263, which claimsthe benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/200,840,titled “Automatic Notification Generation,” filed Aug. 4, 2015, and thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/248,235,titled “Automated Compliance Scripting and Verification,” filed Oct. 29,2015; both applications are incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments described herein generally relate to electronic processingactivities occurring in connection with data verification, data entry,and data output systems, and in particular, but not by way oflimitation, to a system and method for determining, outputting, andverifying disclosure messages and other information that is being outputduring data collection and processing activities in an informationprocessing system.

BACKGROUND

During the initiation or subscription to various services, a disclosureor informative message is often provided to a human user. For example,in a setting where a customer decides to initiate or sign up for a newservice from a business, there may be a legal requirement that a certaindisclosure is displayed, audibly read, or otherwise provided from thebusiness to the customer. In some cases, the disclosure or informativemessage must be identically provided, word-for-word (verbatim), withoutany deviation from the legally required language.

Existing techniques for verifying disclosure processes may occur in aquality assurance setting, long after the session with the customer hasoccurred and the customer has begun use of the service. Existingtechniques that attempt to ensure a proper disclosure process, such asprocesses that are implemented during an interaction session with ahuman user, are generally limited to manual checklists, rules, andscripts that are subject to human error and oversight.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numeralsmay describe similar components in different views. Like numerals havingdifferent letter suffixes may represent different instances of similarcomponents. Some embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and notof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an electronic communication environment depictingoperations and interactions with a disclosure verification system,according to various examples;

FIG. 2 is a data schematic of data values used in a disclosureverification system, according to various examples;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example disclosure workflow in a call centeruse case of a disclosure verification system, according to variousexamples;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example processing workflow in acomputer-based user interface for a disclosure verification system,according to various examples;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example method of automated compliancescripting output and workflow control provided from a disclosureverification system, according to various examples;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example block diagram of an agent device, customerdevice, and device communication interfaces used in connection with theoperation of a disclosure verification system, according to variousexamples; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a machine in the example form of a computersystem within which a set of instructions, for causing the machine toperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may beexecuted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of some example embodiments. It will be evident, however,to one skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be practicedwithout these specific details.

In various examples described herein, an automated compliance scriptingprocess is established, configured, and implemented in an electronicdisclosure verification system, to guide service provider users (e.g.,agents or employees) and consumer users (e.g., customers or clients)within scenarios where a compliance disclosure script or similarcompliance requirement is imposed. The automated compliance scriptingprocess may occur in a variety of interaction settings between humans,including in audio-based (e.g., telephone), text-based (e.g., chat), andvideo-based (e.g., videoconference) sessions established between serviceprovider users and customer users. As described herein, the automatedcompliance scripting process is used to ensure (and verify) the outputof a correct script at a correct time, thus preventing human error,out-of-turn actions, or improperly proceeding with actions in a processworkflow when a disclosure requirement has not been satisfied.

As a result of the automated compliance scripting process, variousdisclosures may be output to customer users at an appropriate time, andrelated electronic systems may enforce data entry requirements andworkflow prerequisites related to the disclosure. Also as a result ofthe automated compliance scripting process, the incidence of incorrect,improper, or missing disclosures and workflow steps can be greatlyreduced, and compliance with legal, process, and technical requirementscan be increased. Further, activity of the automated compliancescripting process may be used to enhance monitoring, audit, andverification conditions for a variety of disclosure requirements,resulting in a consistent and uniform experience for customers, anduniform data entries and data states for records in an informationprocessing system.

In one example, the presently described disclosure verification systemmay be used in a telephone or voice call center, to determine and verifycompliance with legal disclosure requirements during the initiation,modification, or addition of services offered by agents of a company orservice provider. These legal disclosure requirements may include legalnotices, consumer protection notices, privacy policy notices, and likestatements that are read audibly to the user during a phone callsession. Additionally, the presently described disclosure verificationsystem may be used to provide customized versions of the legaldisclosure statements (customized to the language or characteristics ofthe phone call user), optional explanatory statements that are helpfulor that answer questions, or other types of contextual statements.

As further described in the following examples, legal and informativedisclosures also may be output to a customer during a specialized phaseof an electronic process workflow, such as a process workflow that isused during the creation or change to a particular service. Thisspecialized phase may “pause” or “hold” further activity from proceedingin the electronic process workflow, to ensure that the disclosure isprovided, e.g., read, viewed, transmitted, or otherwise output to acustomer before further actions take place in the electronic processworkflow. Returning to the previous call center example, a specializedphase in a new service process workflow may prevent the new service frombeing opened or subscribed to by a customer service agent, until thedisclosure verification system determines that the entire text of thedisclosure has been read audibly to the customer.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an electronic communication environment depictingvarious operations and interactions with a disclosure verificationsystem 106. In this diagram, the components of the disclosureverification system 106 are illustrated, and it will be understood thatthe disclosure verification system 106 may include a variety of devices,interfaces, data sets, and subsystems to assist the operation of acommunication session between a customer 102 and an agent 104. As shown,this communication session may be facilitated with the use of acommunication interface 120. Although only one instance of the customer102, one instance of the agent 104, and one instance of thecommunication interface 120 is depicted in FIG. 1, it will be apparentthat in a particular communication session, more than one agent (andlikewise, more than one customer and communication interface) may beinvolved.

As illustrated, the customer 102 operates a customer communicationdevice 110, utilizing an audio communication interface 112 (e.g., phonecall functionality), a graphical user interface 114 (e.g., internetcontent functionality, such as a mobile app, website, etc.), or both.The communication interface 120 (e.g., a phone call session over a phonenetwork) will connect the customer communication device 110 with theagent communication device 130. The agent communication device 130 mayalso include an audio communication interface 132 and a graphical userinterface 134, allowing the agent 104 to control the communicationsession with the customer 102 and interact with the customer 102 throughthe use of voice communications.

In one example, the communication interface 120 may be implementedthrough an audio interface provided in a telephone call session, withthe use of phone routing equipment, call switching, and hold callfunctionality, and like features for audio interaction such asInteractive Voice Response (IVR) in a telephone audio session betweentwo or more users. In another example, the communication interface 120may be implemented through a video interface provided in avideoconference session, with the use of video cameras, microphones,streaming audio/video data, and like features for audio/videointeraction in a videoconference session between two or more users. Inanother example, the communication interface 120 may include a displayinterface for generating, outputting, or displaying features for displayinteraction in a web session such as a text chat between two or moreusers (including, in some examples, the use of text-to-speech,speech-to-text, and text translation functionality, which may beassisted by computer aided voice processing 146).

The communication interface 120 may connect the customer communicationdevice 110 with the agent communication device 130 through the use ofany number of communication technologies. In various examples, theservers and components of the diagram may communicate via one or morenetworks, which may include one or more of local-area networks (LAN),wide-area networks (WAN), wireless networks (e.g., IEEE 802.11 orcellular networks), the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)network, ad hoc networks, cellular, personal area networks orpeer-to-peer (e.g., Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi Direct), or other combinations orpermutations of network protocols and network types. The one or morenetworks may include a single local area network (LAN) or wide-areanetwork (WAN), or combinations of LANs or WANs, such as the Internet.

The operation of the disclosure verification system 106 further includesfunctionality for operation with an electronic process workflow, whichin FIG. 1, is managed by a workflow management subsystem 150. Theworkflow management subsystem 150 operates to control processing actionsand inputs/outputs in the process workflow, such as may be collectedwith information screens, prompts, and directions in the processworkflow to achieve some business or technical result (e.g., tosubscribe to a new service with a company). Such information screens,prompts, and directions may be output to the agent 104 in the graphicaluser interface 134 on the agent communication device 130, to assist theagent 104 in collecting certain information from the customer 102 in theprocess workflow. In other examples, the agent 104 may use alternate oradditional electronic devices and user interfaces to interact with theworkflow management subsystem 150, and achieve the business andtechnical objectives in the process workflow.

As part of the process workflow occurring during the communicationsession between the agent 104 and the customer 102, certain disclosuresmay be required to be communicated to the customer 102. As furtherdescribed below, the disclosure may be provided from a relevant portionof disclosure communication content 142, stored in a disclosure datadatabase 140 or like electronic data management system. Additionally,the disclosure data database 140 may include a set of disclosurerequirement definitions 144 that provide definition for the timing,conditions, and characteristics of the disclosure to occur within theprocess workflow.

The workflow management subsystem 150 may operate to provide a series ofelectronic processing activities in the process workflow used in thecommunication session between the agent 104 and the customer 102. Theseelectronic processing activities may include the use of a priorprocessing subsystem 152 that assists the collection of information andother activities by the agent, prior to the required disclosure; and asubsequent processing subsystem 154 that assists the collection ofinformation and other activities occurring after the requireddisclosure. The workflow management subsystem 150 may obtain and parsethe disclosure requirement definitions 144 to determine the timing,conditions, and characteristics of the disclosure, such as to determinewhere in the process workflow is the appropriate time and condition toprovide an output disclosure to the customer 102.

In various examples, the workflow management subsystem 150 communicateswith the prior processing subsystem 152 and the subsequent processingsubsystem 154 using an interface such as an application programminginterface (API) or a proprietary data exchange interface. Accordingly,in some examples, the prior processing subsystem 152 and the subsequentprocessing subsystem 154 may be separate software applications whoseoperations are controlled or overseen by the workflow managementsubsystem 150.

Although the prior processing subsystem 152 and the subsequentprocessing subsystem 154 are depicted as separate from the workflowmanagement subsystem 150, in some examples, the features of theprocessing subsystems 152, 154 are included within a common processingsystem or single software application. Additionally, the interactionbetween the agent communication device 130 and the workflow managementsubsystem 150 may include a number of graphical user interface controlscreens (e.g., a customer information screen presented in graphical userinterface 134) to allow the agent 104 to collect information for theprocess workflow, and to allow the agent 104 to control or influence theoutput of the disclosure communication content 142.

In one example, the disclosure communication content 142 is firstprovided to the agent communication device 130, and is then communicatedto the customer 102 via the communication interface 120. As furtherdescribed below, the output of this disclosure communication content 142may be customized or changed by the agent 104. In some examples, thedisclosure output is assisted through the use of the computer aidedvoice processing 146, such as with use of an interactive voice responsetelephone interface communicated to by the customer 102. In otherexamples, the disclosure communication content is communicated directlyto the customer 102 through the communication interface 120 without useof the agent communication device 130.

As a result of the disclosure verification system 106 operations,various disclosure communication content 142 is communicated to thecustomer 102, and a status of the disclosure output is provided (andtracked) in the workflow management subsystem 150. In a phone bankingsetting, for example, the disclosure verification system 106 may be usedto ensure compliance with regulatory requirements for telephone or voicebanking services, where the customer 102 verbally communicates with arepresentative of the banking institution (the agent 104), and therepresentative assists the customer 102 to obtain new services in aprocess workflow tailored to a specific banking product or service. Forexample, the disclosure verification system 106 may be used tocommunicate, in an automated fashion, the legally required disclosuresthat are required before opening the new services in the processworkflow. In this phone banking setting, the disclosure verificationsystem 106 may prevent some action from being completed (such as a newaccount from being opened) or further actions from being conducted inthe process workflow, until the workflow management subsystem 150records an indication that the legally required disclosures have beenoutput to the customer 102.

In one example, the disclosure communication content 142 includesaudible messages that are prerecorded and stored in the disclosure datadatabase 140. The audible messages that are output to a user mayinclude: “verbatim” message types, e.g., messages that must be readword-for-word, identically on script, and are often based on legal orregulatory language (such as consumer notices established by agovernmental agency); “required” message types, e.g., messages that mustbe read to the customer, often based on legal, regulatory, or processrequirements, but whose content is allowed to be paraphrased,reformatted, or changed slightly, as long as the substance of thecontent is provided to the consumer; and “suggested” message types,e.g., messages which are included to assist the customer as part of someprocess workflow, but are not legally required. A customer interactionmay include one or all of these types of messages, depending on theservice being requested or changed, the level of understanding expressedby the customer, and the like. In some examples, the disclosurerequirement definitions 144 includes an indication of the type ofaudible message to be provided to the customer 102.

The disclosure communication content 142 and disclosure requirementdefinitions 144 stored in the disclosure data database 140 may beassociated with any number of workflow conditions, content types, andmay be implemented with use of a database management system, informationrepository, content management system, or like data storage system(including a custom data storage system). In a further example, thedisclosure communication content 142 and the disclosure requirementdefinitions 144 may include the features depicted in FIG. 2, and mayinclude respective properties that define the type of content and theconditions for outputting the type of content within specific processworkflows.

FIG. 2 provides an illustration of a data schematic of disclosure datavalues used in an electronic processing system, such as for use with thedisclosure verification system 106, based on various disclosure contentdata fields 212 and various disclosure requirement data fields 214. Asshown, the disclosure communication content 142 may establish thedisclosure content data fields 212 to include an identifier 222,customization properties 224, text content 226, and voice content 232.The disclosure requirement definitions 144 may define the disclosurerequirement data fields 214 to include a definition of requireddisclosure content 242, a definition of disclosure conditions 244, adefinition of legal requirements 246, a definition of workflowconditions 248, a definition of agent communication device interfaceoptions 254, a definition of customer communication device interfaceoptions 256, and a definition of disclosure auditing information 258. Itwill be understood that any of these data fields may be represented inan electronic system in the form of a template, container, linking, orrule definition to represent any of the characteristics electronicallyin data.

The disclosure content data fields 212 may use the identifier 222 toprovide an association or linking to a particular disclosure requirementdefinition (e.g., to link the required disclosure content 242 in thedisclosure requirement data fields 214). Accordingly, a particulardisclosure requirement may be associated with a particular disclosuremessage, including different versions of such disclosure message,whether text or voice, and based on multiple available languages orother customization. Further, the disclosure content data fields 212 mayuse the customization properties 224 to define the types and ways inwhich a particular disclosure message may be customized by an automatedsystem, an agent, a company, or other participant in the processworkflow.

The particular disclosure message may be represented by text content226, to generate text for a human agent or a text-to-speech computersystem program to read in a script, to provide a written message toaccompany an audio message, to output as text in a customer userinterface, or to provide other textual indications. The text content 226may include language-specific content 228 (such as text, vocabulary, orspelling) that is customized based on language, dialect, country, orregion of the customer, agent, business, or service. Additionally, thetext content 226 of the disclosure content may include a text template230, which may be used for customizing a message to the characteristicsof a particular customer. For example, the text template 230 may includebreaks within a script or block of text to allow a human or a computersystem to substitute text content customized to the particular customer.As a further example, a text-to-speech engine may be used for scriptautomation of the text content 226, to allow variable outputs of ascript or block of text for the disclosure in a particular format(including a language or dialect customized to the characteristics ofthe particular customer).

The particular disclosure message may also be represented by voicecontent 232 to provide an audible reading of the disclosure content. Forexample, a set of voice content may include multiple language recordingsfor a particular disclosure message, such an English voice recording234, a Spanish voice recording 236, a Cantonese Chinese voice recording238, and a Mandarin Chinese voice recording 240.

As previously discussed, the disclosure requirement data fields 214 maybe linked (or otherwise associated or correlated with) a set ofdisclosure content, such as through a linking of the identifier 222 to adefinition of required disclosure content 242 (e.g., disclosurerequirements). Further, the disclosure requirement data fields 214 maydefine the disclosure conditions 244 to indicate the relationship orcharacteristics of particular disclosure messages to certain conditions.The disclosure requirement data fields 214 may also define additionalrequirements, conditions, rules, and use cases in an electronic formatfor use by associated processing systems (such as the workflowmanagement subsystem 150 depicted in FIG. 1).

The disclosure requirement data fields 214 may include a set of legalrequirements 246 that store data to indicate the specific conditions andrequirements (e.g., timing requirements) of the particular disclosuremessage to satisfy a set of legal or regulatory requirements. This setof legal requirements 246 may be correlated with the workflow conditions248 that define the workflow prerequisites 250 for providing thedisclosure in a process workflow, and the workflow subsequent actions252 that occur (or are enabled to occur) in the process workflow afterconducting the disclosure.

The disclosure requirement data fields 214 may define the agentcommunication device interface options 254 to respond to the particulardisclosure message (including agent options to select, start, replay,restart, pause, or cancel an output of the disclosure message to thecustomer). Similarly, the disclosure requirement data fields 214 maydefine the customer communication device interface options 256 toindicate the available options to a customer to respond to theparticular disclosure message (including customer options to accept,deny, replay, restart, pause, or cancel the output of the disclosuremessage).

The disclosure requirement data fields 214 may also include disclosureauditing information 258, used for defining the data values to capture acustomer's response to the disclosure, or to capture the time, date, orinteraction characteristics of the output of the disclosure message tothe customer. For example, the disclosure auditing information 258 maybe used to retain a record that the disclosure message was output to thecustomer at a particular time, date, and what actions were initiated inresponse to the output.

Through an implementation of the disclosure requirement data fields 214and associated disclosure content data fields 212 with the disclosureverification system, customer service agents can be prevented fromfailing compliance requirements and auditable tasks (and, specifically,prevented from failing to accurately read legally required disclosureinformation to customers). The operation of the disclosure verificationsystem ensures that customers are properly informed, to reduce risk andcompliance exceptions, and to prevent quality assurance issues.

In further examples, the presently disclosed disclosure verificationsystem may be used to automate agent actions (including scriptedactions) in a process workflow, to ensure that full and accuratedisclosure is made to a customer prior to completing a portion or phaseof the process workflow, or proceeding with the next action in theprocess workflow. As a result of the defined requirements,prerequisites, and subsequent actions, further actions in the processworkflow may be disabled or prevented until the disclosure message hasbeen output correctly to the customer.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart 300 of an example disclosure workflow,occurring in a telephone call center use case for operation of adisclosure verification system, according to another example. Forexample, in a call center environment that offers customer servicing forfinancial products and services, a disclosure message or otherinformation often needs to be read to the customer by a customer serviceagent before a product or service can be canceled, changed, or added tothe customer's account. In this call center environment, the workflow ofFIG. 3 provides an illustration of the various computing operations anddeterminations that ensure an audible output of the script playbackfunctionality to the customer, and that integrate with a call centerprocess workflow to modify or change an account for a particular productor service.

As shown, the operations in the disclosure verification system maymonitor agent actions or customer actions (or both parties' actions) ina call center process workflow (operation 302). For example, whenactivating a new financial service such as opening a new account, a callcenter process workflow will be followed by the agent to sequentiallywalk the customer through the collection of necessary information (suchas through the use of a script of interaction questions and responses tobe read by the agent). As detailed below, this call center workflow mayalso be modified to provide automated disclosure messages that arenecessary to proceed with opening the account.

The operation of the call center action workflow continues as theinteraction occurs between the agent and customer in the phone call. Asshown, the disclosure verification system may determine a disclosurecondition for service activation (operation 304), such as by detectingwhether a particular disclosure message is required for serviceactivation. In one example, agent actions and disclosure message promptsin the call center process workflow are triggered through a series ofuser interface definitions or rules, such as when an agent reaches acertain user interface screen in the process workflow. In otherexamples, a speech recognition system may operate during a call tomonitor compliance with scripting and to detect when to output adisclosure message. For example, the conversation between the agent andcustomer could be tracked and analyzed to determine, based on context ofthe conversation, whether a disclosure message should be output to thecustomer.

Upon detection of this disclosure condition, the compliance verificationsystem will proceed to ensure the output of the needed disclosuremessages. In a phone environment, the disclosure verification system mayperform various actions to transfer or conference the call with messageplayback functionality for a particular message. For example, in a callcenter, the playback functionality for a recorded message may includingrouting or conferencing a call to a recorded phone message playbackfunctionality (operation 306). In another example, the recorded playbackfunctionality may involve use of a text-to-speech engine which providesan audible reading of a defined text script in a defined languageselection.

Next, the message playback may occur using an additional phone line thatis conferenced into the call between the banker and customer. As aresult, a voice narration of the disclosure language, included in arecorded message, may be played to the customer in the conferenced phoneline (operation 308). During the time that the recorded message isplayed, user interface functions related to the process workflow andcall management may be disabled, such as to prevent the agent frommoving to the next screen of the workflow, disconnecting or transferringthe call, or like actions, until the recorded message completesplayback.

In some examples, the recorded message is pre-recorded in its entirety;in other examples, the recorded message includes a combination ofselected messages, phrases, or words (for example, to provide a playbackcustomized to the service or context, such as to substitute a referenceof “25 dollars” for “100 dollars” within the message), or as isotherwise provided from text-to-speech functions. Other customizationsand variations to the disclosure message may be provided based on thecustomer, agent, or product characteristics.

As a result of the playback of the recorded message, a determination ismade based on whether the message has been successfully played to thecustomer (decision 310). For example, this determination may occurautomatically as a result of the prerecorded message ending, as a resultof an agent concluding the recorded message, or as a result of aninteractive voice prompt confirming that the customer has heard theentirety of the recorded message.

Upon a determination that the recorded message has not been successfullyplayed to the customer, various remedial actions may occur to retry theplayback. For example, the playback of the recorded message may occurfor a second time (operation 312). In some examples, adjustments to theplayback of the recorded message may occur, including changes to speed,volume, tone, language, or other characteristics of the recording. Infurther examples, the format or the type of message may also be changed(providing an alternate text disclosure sent to an electronic device ofthe customer, such as with an SMS text message or email message, if thevoice message is unable to be output to, acknowledged from, orunderstood by the customer).

Upon a determination that the recorded message has not been successfullyreplayed to the customer (decision 314), the disclosure verificationsystem may perform further processing to report the failure to the agent(operation 316), and proceed with a failure handling workflow (operation318). This failure handling workflow may include logging the error,escalating the call to another agent or a manager, or providingrecommendations to the agent or customer to attempt the requireddisclosure in another form or at a later time.

Upon a determination that the recorded message has been successfullyplayed to the customer (decision 310), or successfully replayed to thecustomer (decision 314), the workflow proceeds to redirect the customercall to control of the customer service agent (operation 320). As aresult of the workflow, tracking information may be passed within thedisclosure verification system to track the status of the disclosureoutput. This tracking information may include auditable date and timecharacteristics, a record of whether the customer has responded to therecorded message, a data record (such as a recording) of the customer'sresponse, or other information. This tracking information may alsoresult in a message or command that is communicated within thedisclosure verification system, to allow the agent to proceed with theactivation of the product or service (and the resumption of the processworkflow) (operation 325).

In some examples, control over the disclosure outputs may be provided tothe agent. For example, the agent may be provided with controls that maypause, rewind, or restart the playback of the recorded message. However,the agent may be prevented from moving on to the next step in theprocess workflow (e.g., initiating, opening, or selecting the requestedproduct or service) until the recorded message is played in itsentirety. This may involve locking, disabling, or freezing certainfunctionality in a user interface for the agent until the determinationof the successful playback indicates a successful disclosure. Also insome examples, the agent cannot move to the next step of the processworkflow to obtain or process further actions with the service until thecustomer has provided consent to the message (or verified that she or hehas understood the message, or agrees to proceed in light of thedisclosure).

In some examples, the disclosure message output may be conducteddirectly by a reading performed by the agent, rather than using arecorded message. For example, a speech recognition system could analyzeor monitor the speech that is output to the customer, to assure that ascript is recited correctly, based on the type of disclosure message(e.g., whether verbatim, required, or suggested message types). In otherexamples, the disclosure message output may be conducted by automatedvoice playback software, a text-to-speech interface, or othercomputer-assisted processing.

In some examples, the agent may be provided with user interface featuresto assist the playback of the recorded message. For example, an agentmay be presented with a selectable link at a particular point in theworkflow, to populate the automated voice system's number into a screen,and transfer the customer call to recorded playback functionality. Fromthis user interface, the agent may click on a play button or control(or, alternately, the message may automatically start playing), such asafter the agent explains that a recorded message will be played to thecustomer. In some examples, the agent is also conferenced into the callto listen to the pre-recorded message at the same time as the customer.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of an example disclosure processing workflow400 in a computer-based user interface of a disclosure verificationsystem, according to another example. The operation of the disclosureworkflow 400 from FIG. 4 may be used, for example, to implement the callcenter process in the flowchart 300 described above. However, it will beapparent that the operation of the workflow 400 may also be used inother settings, not directly applicable to phone calls or phonesessions, such as at other electronic interfaces used by customers andagents (e.g., computers, mobile devices, kiosks, and the like).

The disclosure workflow 400 includes a series of steps for verifying theoutput of the disclosure message. As shown, the disclosure processingworkflow 400 includes the detection of a condition for disclosure output(operation 410). This condition may be automatically detected as aresult of reaching a designated point in an interaction script orprocess workflow. This condition may also be detected as a result ofnavigation to a designated point of a user interface, a selection from amenu, or other automated or human-assisted interaction with the userinterface.

In response to the detection of the condition for the disclosure outputwithin the process workflow, the agent is prevented from proceeding inthe process workflow (operation 420). The agent may be prevented fromproceeding with subsequent screens, actions, or processes in the userinterface that implements the workflow until the required disclosure isoutput in its entirety to the customer. In further examples, the agentmay be prevented from proceeding in the user interface until not onlythe disclosure is output in its entirety, but the customer also providesconfirmation of assent or acknowledgment of the message. Accordingly,when the process workflow is paused (or stopped), the followingoperations may occur to allow the output of the disclosure information.

The agent may be presented with a disclosure output option (operation430) in the user interface, to control the output (e.g., playback) of aprerecorded message. The disclosure output option may include aplurality of selection options, such as multiple languages in which thedisclosure message can be played back. In other examples, the disclosureoutput options may include customization properties, which areautomatically populated by the disclosure verification system, ormanually entered by the agent, to allow a customization of the outputoptions.

The disclosure verification system may receive and process a selectionof a disclosure output option (operation 440) received in the userinterface from the agent, such as a designation of a language and acommand to commence playback. The disclosure workflow 400 then continuesby initiating the output of the disclosure message to customer(operation 450). In connection with the techniques described in FIG. 3,this may include the transfer and playback of a message in a telephoneinterface, including providing a user interface feature to oversee thetransfer of a customer call using a message playback interface andcontrols.

When the disclosure message completes playing, a response to thedisclosure output from the customer may be provided in the userinterface (operation 460). This may include a completed statusindication of the message playback, and an indication of the detectedcustomer reply (e.g., an audible “yes” provided in response to a voiceprompt, “do you want to proceed”) to the message playback, or likestatus messages being output to the agent. In some examples, a status ofthe playback of the disclosure message is maintained and logged in thedisclosure verification system (operation 470) for future auditing,verification, and compliance monitoring purposes.

As a result of a successful output of a disclosure message to acustomer, user interface interactivity or other features of the processworkflow may be enabled (operation 480). For example, an agent userinterface screen may be modified to allow the progression of the processworkflow to a next step, thus allowing further actions in the workflowto be initiated, resumed, or completed.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart 500 for a method for outputting adisclosure message, according to various examples. The method of theflowchart 500 may be performed by any of the components, logic, orsystems described herein. For example, the method may be embodiedthrough processes executing on a computer system. Also for example, themethod may be embodied through software instructions included in anon-transitory machine-readable medium, configured to execute on acomputer system.

In an example, at block 510, the method begins by detecting, from aprocess workflow, one or more conditions that requires a disclosuremessage. This detecting may occur based on a detected context (such asthrough voice recognition or keywords used in a communication session),or based on certain points resulting from scripted events or actions ina process workflow employed with a communication session between anagent and customer.

In an example, at block 520, the method continues with controllingoperation of the process workflow, by pausing one or more actions oroperations of the process workflow. In an example, at block 530, themethod continues with disabling user interface functions for the agent.In some examples, pausing of the one or more actions or operations atblock 520 may simultaneously cause the user interface functions thatrelate to the one or more actions or operations to become disabled.

In an example, at block 540, the method continues with outputting thedisclosure message to the customer user. In some examples, thisoutputting includes playing an audio recording to the customer user inthe communication session that is pre-recorded or is generated fromtext-to-speech functionality. In other examples, this outputtingincludes transmitting textual content to the customer user in thecommunication session (or in an additional communication session).

After successfully outputting the disclosure message to the customeruser, further processing may occur to continue with the processworkflow. In an example, at block 550, the method continues withenabling user interface functions for the agent user, such as to enablethe functions disabled at block 530. In an example, at block 560, theone or more actions or operations of the process workflow are resumed.In some examples, the resumption of the one or more actions oroperations may be directly correlated to simultaneously enable userinterface functions that relate to the one or more actions oroperations.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram 600 for components of various devicesused in operations with a disclosure verification system according to anexample. For example, in connection with the agent-customer interactionscenarios previously described, the electronic devices that interactwith the compliance verification system may include a customer device610 and an agent device 630.

In an example, the customer device 610 includes various components thatprovide for the input and output of audiovisual content. For example,the customer device 610 may include: an audio interface 612, whichprovides output of audio (e.g., speech) to a customer; a video interface616, which provides output of visual content (e.g., video conferencecontent) to a customer; a display interface 620 which provides outputand control of display content, including textual disclosure contentoutput; an input processing component 614, which provides processingfunctions to receive input (e.g., confirmation and selections) from thecustomer; a notification component 618, which provides notifications toa customer, based on the disclosure workflow; a verification component622, which provides a verification of customer actions or inputs.Accordingly, to implement the interfaces 612, 616, 620, and components614, 618, 622, the customer device 610 may include or be coupled tospecialized software, hardware, or combinations thereof.

In an example, the agent device 630 includes various components thatprovide for control of the disclosure workflow, and relatedagent-customer interactions. For example, the agent device 630 mayinclude: a disclosure customization component 632 that performsoperations to customize the language, content; or other outputcharacteristics of the disclosure content, based on the selections ofthe agent, customer, or characteristics of the interaction; a workflowmanagement component 634; which performs operations to pause, start,stop, and otherwise control the operations of the process workflow; acustomer response and verification component 636, which performsoperations to monitor the response of the customer to the disclosure,including any required consent or acknowledgement; a data trackingcomponent 638; which performs operations to track the status of thedisclosure output, any customer response to the disclosure output, andother information needed to successfully track and audit procedures inthe disclosure workflow; and a disclosure selection interface 640 toreceive agent selections of particular disclosure messages, disclosurecustomizations, and other changes to the output disclosure message.

The communications occurring between the agent device 630 and thecustomer device 610 may occur via any number of interfaces, networks, orplatforms, again depending on the type or format of the disclosure andany relevant requirements of the disclosure message, agent, or customer.For example, the communications may occur in connection with: web pageand dynamic content provided through a website interface 650; mobileapplication (app) content provided through a mobile device 660;specialized machine content specialized for a kiosk or other specializedmachine, such as provided through an automatic teller machine (ATM)interface 670; phone call interactivity, such as is provided in an IVRinterface 680 (including the use of an IVR interface that processeshuman speech from a party or provides human-output speech from scriptsor text).

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram illustrating a machine in the exampleform of a computer system 700, within which a set or sequence ofinstructions may be executed to cause the machine to perform any one ofthe methodologies discussed herein; according to an example embodiment.In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone deviceor may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of either a serveror a client machine in server-client network environments, or it may actas a peer machine in peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environments.The machine may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a hybridtablet, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), amobile telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge,or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further,while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

Example computer system 700 includes at least one processor 702 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) or both,processor cores, compute nodes, etc.), a main memory 704 and a staticmemory 706, which communicate with each other via a link 708 (e.g., busor interconnect). The computer system 700 may further include a videodisplay unit 710, an input device 712 (e.g., an alphanumeric keyboard),and a user interface (UI) navigation device 714 (e.g., a mouse). In oneembodiment, the video display unit 710, input device 712 and UInavigation device 714 are incorporated into a touch screen display. Thecomputer system 700 may additionally include a storage device 716 (e.g.,a drive unit), a signal generation device 718 (e.g., a speaker), anetwork interface device 720, and one or more sensors 730, such as aglobal positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass, accelerometer, locationsensor, or other sensor.

The storage device 716 includes a machine-readable medium 722 on whichis stored one or more sets of data structures and instructions 724(e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 724 mayalso reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory704, static memory 706, and/or within the processor 702 during executionthereof by the computer system 700, with the main memory 704, staticmemory 706, and the processor 702 also constituting machine-readablemedia.

While the machine-readable medium 722 is illustrated in an exampleembodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” mayinclude a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized ordistributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that storethe one or more instructions 724. The term “machine-readable medium”shall also be taken to include any tangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machineand that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure or that is capable of storing,encoding or carrying data structures utilized by or associated with suchinstructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly betaken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, andoptical and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine-readable mediainclude non-volatile memory, including, but not limited to, by way ofexample, semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmableread-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such asinternal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; andCD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

The instructions 724 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 726 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 720 utilizing any one of a number of well-knowntransfer protocols (e.g., HTTP). The communications with thecommunications network 726 optionally may occur using wirelesstransmissions sent via one or more antennas 728. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (LAN), a wide areanetwork (WAN), the Internet, mobile telephone networks, plain oldtelephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., Wi-Fi, 3G,and 4G LTE/LTE-A or WiMAX networks). The term “transmission medium”shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by themachine, and includes digital or analog communications signals or otherintangible medium to facilitate communication of such software.

The above description is intended to be illustrative, and notrestrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or moreaspects thereof) may be used in combination with others. Otherembodiments may be used, such as by one of ordinary skill in the artupon reviewing the above description. Further, although some of theexamples were provided in relation to the subscription or modificationof financial-related services in a telephone call center, it will beunderstood that the examples may be applicable to a variety of otherindustries and communication mediums, and the presently describedtechniques may also be performed upon other types of service workflows.

Also, in the above Detailed Description, various features may be groupedtogether to streamline the disclosure. However, the claims may not setforth every feature disclosed herein as embodiments may feature a subsetof said features. Further, embodiments may include fewer features thanthose disclosed in a particular example. Thus, the following claims arehereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with a claim standingon its own as a separate embodiment. The scope of the embodimentsdisclosed herein is to be determined with reference to the appendedclaims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claimsare entitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: detecting, in a processworkflow, a condition requiring an output of an audio message to acustomer user; and in response to the detecting, controlling the outputof the audio message in a communication session with the customer userby: pausing an action in the process workflow; commencing output of theaudio message to the customer user in the communication session; seconddetecting that the recorded audio message has been delivered to thecustomer user in the communication session in its entirety; and inresponse to the second detecting, resuming the action in the processworkflow.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio message isassociated with a set of one or more disclosure requirements.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the condition is specified in the set ofdisclosure requirements.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the set ofdisclosure requirements include options available to the customer userfor responding to the audio message and wherein the method furtherincludes presenting the options after the second detecting.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein commencing output of the audio message to thecustomer user in the communication session includes commencing output ofthe audio message according to the disclosure requirements.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein commencing output of the audio message to thecustomer user in the communication session includes: retrieving a texttemplate associated with the audio message; substituting a portion oftext in the text template with a customer specific value; and using atext-to-speech engine to playback audio to a user based on the texttemplate and substituting.
 7. The method of claim 1, further including:prior to the second detecting, third detecting that the recorded audiomessage was not successfully played to the customer user; and based onthe third detecting, adjusting playback of the audio message.
 8. Asystem comprising: at least one processor; a storage device comprisinginstructions, which when executed by the at east one processor,configure the at least one process to perform operations comprising:detecting, in a process workflow, a condition requiring an output of anaudio message to a customer user; and in response to the detecting,controlling the output of the audio message in a communication sessionwith the customer user by: pausing an action in the process workflow;commencing output of the audio message to the customer user in thecommunication session; second detecting that the recorded audio messagehas been delivered to the customer user in the communication session inits entirety; and in response to the second detecting, resuming theaction in the process workflow.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein theaudio message is associated with a set of one or more disclosurerequirements.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the condition isspecified in the set of disclosure requirements.
 11. The system of claim9, wherein the set of disclosure requirements include options availableto the customer user for responding to the audio message and wherein themethod further includes presenting the options after the seconddetecting.
 12. The system of claim 8, wherein commencing output of theaudio message to the customer user in the communication session includescommencing output of the audio message according to the disclosurerequirements.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein commencing output ofthe audio message to the customer user in the communication sessionincludes: retrieving a text template associated with the audio message;substituting a portion of text in the text template with a customerspecific value; and using a text-to-speech engine to playback audio to auser based on the text template and substituting.
 14. The system ofclaim 8, the operations further including: prior to the seconddetecting, third detecting that the recorded audio message was notsuccessfully played to the customer user; and based on the thirddetecting, adjusting playback of the audio message.
 15. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium comprising instructions, which when executed byat least one processor, configure the at least one processor to performoperations comprising: detecting, in a process workflow, a conditionrequiring an output of an audio message to a customer user; and inresponse to the detecting, controlling the output of the audio messagein a communication session with the customer user by: pausing an actionin the process workflow; commencing output of the audio message to thecustomer user in the communication session; second detecting that therecorded audio message has been delivered to the customer user in thecommunication session in its entirety; and in response to the seconddetecting, resuming the action in the process workflow.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the audiomessage is associated with a set of one or more disclosure requirements.17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein thecondition is specified in the set of disclosure requirements.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the set ofdisclosure requirements include options available to the customer userfor responding to the audio message and wherein the method furtherincludes presenting the options after the second detecting.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein commencingoutput of the audio message to the customer user in the communicationsession includes commencing output of the audio message according to thedisclosure requirements.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumof claim 15, wherein commencing output of the audio message to thecustomer user in the communication session includes: retrieving a texttemplate associated with the audio message; substituting a portion oftext in the text template with a customer specific value; and using atext-to-speech engine to playback audio to a user based on the texttemplate and substituting.
 21. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 15, the operations further including: prior to thesecond detecting, third detecting that the recorded audio message wasnot successfully played to the customer user; and based on the thirddetecting, adjusting playback of the audio message.